I like to get out of the house with my kids, and that means i need my very own diaper bag. My wife has a snazzy Kenneth Cole bag she got as a shower gift, but most diaber bags are way too, well, girly. So I have dug up my old Mountainsmith lumbar pack and it’s a dandy! Plenty of room, multiple comartments, easy to carry hands-free, and nice and manly to boot. What do all of you other dads out there use?
My hubby used a backpack.
Now days there are backpacks made to be diaper bags Baby Bjorn .
My husband often carries a backpack to hold camera, water bottles, etc. If it wasn’t a backpack length trip, he put a diaper and some wipes in his back pocket, and otherwise winged it. Either that, or he used the backpack child carrier with its own pockets or the jogging stroller with its own pockets.
Have you all forgotten about Walmart bags?
My husband has abandoned his old Mountainsmith pack for this rather snazzy number from Patagonia. It’s like a cross between a shoulder bag and a backpack, without being girly like some shoulder bags or dorky (sorry) like a backpack.
I keep trying to think of a name for it–something along the lines of the “mansierre” or “Bro” from that Seinfeld episode. How would you male-ify the word “pocketbook?”
We’ve gone through 3 kids with the Lands End diaper bag and I’ve always felt plenty manly carrying it around. Plus the thing is loaded with all the baby-gear-friendly features you could want.
We had backpacks. One was a backpack diaper bag that included a nice little changing mat. The mat was nice, but the bag was too small, so we started going with a larger backpack we had picked up somewhere.
We use a messenger from timbuk2. You can customize the colors and features.
Another backpack user here…it’s great to have your hands free, without worrying about the bag slipping off your shoulder and to have it (more or less) out of the way.
We had looked around for a decent diaper bag for our twins. Having twins, we knew we would be carrying more stuff than usual and looked for a bag that would accomodate us. I never found anything I liked for a reasonable price and used a backpack that we already had. It has one giant compartment as the main bag, one smaller one on the front and a little pocket on the smaller bag. It’s grey and black and since I’m the one carrying it, I would rather carry that than some flowery or Dora bag!
We managed to stow diapers (usually 8-10 as infants and 4-6 as toddlers), vaseline, wipes and pad. The pad is a cotton quilted pad just big enough for the kids, not plastic or lined at all. It rolls up into a compact size. We had a couple and would throw them in the wash. All the change stuff fit into the smaller compartment.
The larger compartment was available for the spit cloths, change of clothes, bibs, snacks, food, etc. We got a small soft-sided cooler bag that we would put the milk and juice into. The cooler bag fit into the large compartment (usually). Occasionally the backpack would be overflowing, but that was typically for longer trips (either by car or stroller) or in the cooler weather. It worked well to have the single compartment to be able to jam stuff in and not have to worry about trying to get it to fit properly. The downside is trying to find specific items later.
When Kid # 1 came along, Inigo asked Mrs. Montoya, “Why don’t you just yse the day pack that was your book bag in college?” A stiff look soon gave me to know I had no clue about these matters. The Bag was a puffy contraption of fabric & plastic. Inigo said, “Looks kinda cheap, are you sure it won’t self-destruct?” Another look. A couple months later we were in the market for another bag, this one from Land’s End. Lasted 6 months. Inigo said nothing and avoided eye contact. Somewhere along the line we realised that we were being “marketed to” by hawkers of inferior and unnecessary products–like Dreft :rolleyes: After a bit of that the lights come on and you realize all you need is dependable utility–fragrance-free detergents that clean well and then rinse out, compartmented utility luggage that will not come apart, a car that will hold the required number of car seats, etc.
After 3 kids & 8 years, we’re still using the REI daypack for family outings.
I don’t know what kind it was because the wife managed to lose it a few weeks ago and since then have just been carrying a few diapers and a pack of wipeys around. :mad:
I honestly don’t know how she does it. You could fill a supertanker with things she has lost since I’ve known her. A special compartment would be for sunglasses alone.